Snake gently gnawing fingers?

[Danadae]

I have a 1.5 year old male who is about 2 1/2 feet long. He has never given us any trouble at all and is very easy to handle and feed.

Tonight when he took his mouse he was much more aggressive than normal and he struck it harder than usual. He coiled so tightly around the mouse that it's stomach burst open and blood squirted on the snake and inside his feeding container. He began vibrating his tail, which is not too unusual during a feeding, and began to swallow the mouse. After he was done swallowing the mouse he went over to the tiny pool of blood and began drinking it. Once he was completely done I lifted him out of his feeding container while my wife washed it out. While I was holding him I felt something gently gnawing on the side of my hand and I looked back down to see he had his mouth around the side of it and was very gently gnawing it. He was not using his teeth at all and he was definitely not biting hard. He let go and then began gnawing on my pointer finger in the same way. I didn't want him to get too excited and really clamp down so I rubbed the tip of his nose with a free finger and he let go. A few seconds later he did the same thing on another one of my fingers, no teeth and gently gnawing without biting hard. It was a very unusual feeling and each time he left a little slimy saliva on my fingers.

Once his container was cleaned we filled it up with some lukewarm water and added a few drops of reptile disinfectant to it so he could wash off. He was very happy to get in the water and swim around. Afterward I took him out and put him away and he still seemed very happy.

Is this normal behavior? Has anyone had this happen to them before? Does anyone have any idea what this behavior means? It was all a very unusual feeding experience and I have no idea what to make of it.

Thanks on advance!

 

[Weda737]

Sounds like he was still in 'feeding mode' and was searching your fingers as he would the head of the mouse, I've seen mine many times gently bite around their prey until they find the nose and start to swallow. Poor guy was just a little overzealous lol. Come to think of it, My boy did something very similar to me.

 

[AliCat37]

I promise he was using his teeth they're just so small you won't feel them.

Sorry the mouse exploded. That's pretty nasty when that happens.

I bet he was just still in feeding mode too.

 

[gsdbecca]

My girl has never bit me like this. However, she has developed a strong feeding response as she has grown. When she was younger, she'd gently take the feeder off the tongs and swallow. As she's grown, she's started striking and coiling her food. Then she goes into major hunting mode and I've thought she was going to taste test my fingers several times when I go to put her back into her viv.

 

[Danadae]

Still in feeding mode? He was acting like he wanted to get out so that's when I picked him up. How long do you guys usually let them sit after eating?

 

[Chip]

48 hours. I feed in the viv though, and am an advocate of it. I understand feeding outside, and would consider it for a getula king or mussurana. But for me, it's more stress on them, more non-feedings, and more bites to do it with corns.

 

[Weda737]

I'm an in viv feeder too, I experimented with feeding tubs and it just isn't worth the stress and bother. No real difference in the way corns behave either.

 

[rmfsnakes32]

I feed in viv to I had to many regurgitation using feeding bims

 

[AngryTexan]

I want to feed in viv, but what about the aspen and possibility of swallowing it? Or do ya'll not use aspen. Sorry for thread jacking.

 

[Chip]

I place a warm, thawed, dry prey item on a deli cup lid. They usually pull it off the lid, and I've seen them ingest some. I've also bothered a corn pulling aspen off the rodent they are trying to swallow! Get the rodent good and dry, and it will be a much cleaner meal than you'd expect them to ever get in the wild. To my knowledge, after feeding scores of corns for the last decade, I have never had an issue with impaction.

 

[gsdbecca]

I've fed in the viv twice...both times I had issues. First time, the mouse bleed all over Ala's fav hide. So, I had a big mess to clean up. Second time, the feeding went well, but when I opened her viv the next time she came charging out at me looking for food. So, I still feared for my fingers. Ha!
So, I guess the point is some things work for some people and not for others. I have this one snake and zero issues feeding in a seperate bin. I've thought she was going to bite me several times when moving her back, but a last minute tongue flick has always saved me......but ya know, joining the bite club wouldn't be the end of the world either.

 

[AliCat37]

I'd rather my snakes associate their cage with food, rather than play time with food

 

[antsterr]

A mouse bursting open can mean that you thawed it out too hot, this causes the stomach content to produce gas or for existing gas to expand. Additionally really hot water will lightly cook the skin and guts of the mice and cause them to be weakened and more likely to burst from pressure.

The aggressive feeding and tail rattling is a sign of a good strong feeding response. I find that hatchlinglings and juveniles are usually very lazy eaters but adults often develop a very strong aggressive response. I'd expect more of this in the future from your little fellow. As for trying to eat your hand? I had an MBK that would do that, it wasn't aggression or anger, it was a genuine attempt to make my hand into a food item. A nice soft warm moving object can look like lunch when the smell of food is in the air and the snake is in the mood for food.

 

[Weda737]

Yeah... this thread jinxed me lol. My peppermint from Walter Smith attempted to make my fingers food last night, just during a routine water change. He's a piggy and I wouldn't trade him for anything!